Cargo-discharging apparatus



(No Model.)

A. BETTELEY.

CARGO DISOHARGING APPARATUS. I No. 371,731. Patented Oct. 18,1887.

IMP/71,507; J1 ZZart Btlt],

comprising a propelling device of novel conthe vessel, the said device being constructed llwiraio dramas Farnwr @rricn.

ALBERT BETTELEY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARGO=DISCHARGING APPARATUS.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,731, dated October 18, 1887.

Application filed September 21, 1886. Serial No. 314,166. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT BETTELEY, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Facilitating the Discharge of Cargoes from Vessels, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters 011 the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus for discharging material carried in bulk from the holds of vessels, being applicable for the discharge of heavy coarse materialssuch as coalas well as for finer lighter materialssuch as grain, flour, or salt-that are carried in bulk.

The invention is embodied in an apparatus struction and means for actuating the same with a reciprocating movement in the hold of to engage and propel the materialin its movement in one direction or toward the hatch way from which the material is to be raised, but to pass over the material in its return movement without propelling the same.

The invention does not consist, broadly, in a conveying or propelling device havingatoand-fro movement in the hold of the vessel, as such have been used heretofore; but it consists, mainly, in the novel construction of the propelling device and the novel details in construction and arrangement of the actuating mechanism for said propelling device.

Figure l is a longitudinal section of a portion of a vessel provided with means for facilitating the removal of the cargo in accord ance with this invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of a portion of the apparatus represented in Fig. 1, and Fig. 8 an under side view of the propelling device.

The conveying or propelling device A, by which the material in the hold beneath the deck B of the vessel is moved, consists, essentially, of a platform or frame, a, provided with bails or supporting-arms a, pivotally connected with it at the upper side near either end of the said platform, whiehhas pivotally connected with its forward endthat is, the end in the direction toward which the material is to be propelled-a shovel or scoop-like device, I), having a hinged connection with the said platform a, as indicated at 1), upon which the said scoop is free to turn upwardly, it having, however, its pivotal downward movement limited by a stop, 0, that may be adjustably connected with the platform a, so as to limit the downward movement of the scoop b When the latter arrives at any desired angle. The platform a also has pivoted upon it wings or scrapers cl 6, which are free to fold up against the under side of the said platform, but have their downward pivotal movement limitedby adjustable stops c c, which preferably arrest them when inclined to the platform a atabout the angle represented in Fig. 1, so that when the platform is moved forward or in the direction of the arrow the tendency of the scrapers is to draw the platform down into the material, which will be pushed forward by the said scrapers.

It is found in practice better to incline the forward scrapers, e, outward from the middle of the platform a, as shown, as when arranged in this way they have a tendency to steady the movement of the propelling device and to hold the same down in the material without, however, gathering and pushing forward too much of the said material at each forward movement thereof.

The propelling device A. is actuated by a flexible actuator, (shown as a cord or chain, f,) the bight of which is carried over apulley, g, at the rear of the point from which the material is to be drawn by the propelling device, the two parts of the said rope coming from the pulley g passing over separate guide-pulleys h it, properly located in the Vessel, and then over as many additional guide-pulleys,i i, as may be required to'a winding drum or pulley, 7c, of an engine, E, which may be either on the vessel or on shore. lhe pulley g is shown as supported on a frame or block, 9, adapted to be fastened to any desired one of the deckbeams, as shown, and the pulley h has its hearing at the lower end of a beam, at, that may be fastened to the hatchwaytimber m by suitable clamps, m m in which the said bar or beam at can slide vertically and beheld at any desired height by clamping devices m.

By having the pulley h at or near the lower end of the vertically-adjustable beam in, as

shown, it may be placed at any height desired, so as to cause the propelling device A to finish its forward movement at the proper level,and by having the scoop I) of the said propelling device at the end of the platform a in front of its point of attachment a with the actuatingcord the said scoop b may be caused to travel h i, for the other side of the actuating-cord may be mounted on the same beam, m, with the pulleys h 1', preferably at the other side of the said beam, or, if desired, may be supported on another beam fastened to the hatchway-timber in a similar manner to the one m, and are also adjustable along the beam m, being mounted on blocks adapted to slide on said beam and be fastened at any desired position thereon by a suitable clamp or setscrew.

The apparatus thus far described for moving material from the hold beneath the deck to a point under the hatchway of a vessel may be used in connection witlrany desired hoisting apparatus for raising it out through the hatchway, preferably with a self filling or empty ing bucket similar to those employed for dredging. When, however, it is desired to employ the ordinary form of hoisting-buckets, the labor of filling the said buckets may be greatly diminished by the appliances best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consisting of a chute, n, which may be made of one or more pieces of sheetsteel, sharp at its lower end, so that it may be driven in an inclined direction into the material in the hold of a vessel, the surface of which is represented in dotted lines, Fig. 1, the forward or upper end of the said chute resting on a suitablesupport, n, so as to bring itjust above the top of the buckets 0 when resting on the floor. lVhen more than one bucket are to be filled simultaneously, the upper end of the chute a may be widened, as represented in Fig. 2, forming a platform, 01?, preferably inclined downward toward the buckets and suitably recessed at its front edge to receive the different buckets. Then the chute n will form an inclined floor, up which the scoop b will carry its load, discharging the same directly into the bucket 0 in front, or enabling it to be readily directed into the other buckets by one or more workmen standing on the platform a. The chute n is made of several pieces to facilitate its insertion into the mass of the cargo, said pieces being fastened together by suitable transverse braces, 02 (see Figs. 1 and 2,) placed at the under side of the said chute, so as not to obstruct the movement of the propelling device A. The said braces n are removable, so as to enable the parts of the chute to be withdrawn from or inserted in the material separately, and when they are properly inserted the braces are bolted on, and thus fasten the parts of the chute together securely.

I claim 1. A propelling device comprising a frame or platform, a, having a scoop pivotally connected therewith at one end and wings or scrapers pivotally connected therewith at the under side, and means for connecting said propelling device at either end with an actuating cord or chain, and an actuating cord or chain and means for supporting, guiding, and actuating the same, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the propelling device having a to-and-fro movement with a flexible actuator, f, connected with said propelling device, and the beam m, vertically movable in the hatchway of the vessel, and pulley h, connected with it at its lower end, and a second pulley, h, adjustably connected with it above the firstmentioned pulley, and a clamp by which the said beam is fastened at any desired height in the hatchway, substantially as described.

3. Apropellingdevice consisting of a frame or platform and scoop pivotally connected thereto near one end thereof, and a wing or. scraper pivotally connected with the under side of the said frame near the other end thereof, and a pair of intermediate wings or scrapers pivoted at the under side of said frame andainclined rearwardly and outwardly from the middle thereof, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' ALBERT BETTELEY.

\Vitnesses:

J 0s. P. LIVERMORE, H. P. Barns. 

